MENDELSSOHN, Felix 1809-1847

[Op. 90]. Symphonie No. 4 ... [Piano 4-hands]

für Orchester ... Op. 90. No. 19 der nachgelassenen Werke. Klavierauszug zu vier Händen ... Pr. 2 Thlr. 15 Ngr.

Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [PN 8361], [1851].

Oblong folio. Original publisher's green printed wrappers with titling within decorative border. [1] (title), 2-55, [i] (blank) pp. Engraved. With publisher's catalog of works for piano 4-hands to verso of lower wrapper.

From the library of composer Horace Middleton (1879-1961), with his small handstamp to blank upper corner of title and page 3; small publisher's and Scharfenberg & Luis, New York handstamps to foot of title.

Wrappers slightly worn and soiled; Scharfenberg & Luis handstamp to blank lower margin ofupper wrapper. Upper outer corners dampstained.

First Edition of this arrangement. Wehner MWV N 16, p. 226. Not in Krause, Ward Jones, or Hoboken. Scarce.

Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony (No. 4, Op. 90) was composed following the composer's visit to Italy and first performed in London on 13 May 1833. Mendelssohn revised the symphony in the following year, but it remained unpublished at the time of his death. This leads to confusion surrounding the order of Mendelssohn's symphonies, as both it and the "Reformation" Symphony (No. 5, Op. 107) were composed and performed prior to Symphonies 2 and 3. The chronological order of Mendelssohn's symphonies is as follows:

- Symphony No. 1, Op. 11 (1824)
- Symphony No. 5, Op. 107 "Reformation" (1830)
- Symphony No. 4, Op. 90 "Italian" (1833)
- Symphony No. 2, Op. 52 "Lobgesang" (1840)
- Symphony No. 3, Op. 56 "Scottish" (1842)

One of the most gifted and versatile prodigies, Mendelssohn stood at the forefront of German music during the 1830s and 40s, as conductor, pianist, organist and, above all, composer. His musical style, fully developed before he was 20, drew upon a variety of influences, including the complex chromatic counterpoint of Bach, the formal clarity and gracefulness of Mozart and the dramatic power of Beethoven and Weber.

Mendelssohn’s emergence into the first rank of 19th-century German composers coincided with efforts by music historiographers to develop the concept of a Classic–Romantic dialectic in 18th and 19th-century music. To a large degree, his music reflects a fundamental tension between Classicism and Romanticism in the generation of German composers after Beethoven." R. Larry Todd in Grove Music Online

Horace Middleton was a British-born musician who served on the faculty of Bennett College from 1919 to the mid-1930s. He was best known for the music he composed for the Greek plays performed at the college. See obituary, Millbrook Round Table, November 23, 1961.

Item #35156

Price: $200.00  other currencies